


no grave can hold my body down

by flowercoast



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, also made bc of a question i had a year ago: WHAT IF JESTER TOOK LEVELS IN BARBARIAN, beau dies but revivify, i just want a rez ritual from anyone ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:08:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21688093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowercoast/pseuds/flowercoast
Summary: “Beau?”“Yeah, Jester?”“What… What do you think is on the other side?”Beau goes down in battle and Jester rages.
Relationships: Jester Lavorre/Beauregard Lionett
Comments: 10
Kudos: 184





	no grave can hold my body down

_“Beau?”_

_“Yeah, Jester?”_

_“What… What do you think is on the other side?”_

“Beau!” Jester watches with wide eyes and shaky hands as Beau takes a hit from the sword clutched in the hand of the giant. It cuts down her front until all Jester can see is the bloody red ribbons cutting through the air and then -

Beau stares ahead blankly and smiles at Jester. The giant swings again, and Beau isn’t smiling anymore. Her body flies back from the force of the blow, and she slams against the stone cavern wall and crumples to the ground, unmoving.

Jester’s hand instantly comes up to cover her mouth, tears filling her eyes as she stares at the blood pooling on the floor.

She hears shuffling, and tears her eyes away just long enough to see the giant swinging it’s sword in her direction.

_“I don’t know Jester… I never really thought about it.”_

_“Really?”_

_“I mean, yeah, we’ve come close a few times but I don’t like to think about it, I guess? If we’re there, we’re there.”_

Jester ducks at the last second, the giant’s sharpened blade connecting with the stalagmite behind her - where her head was just a moment before.

Her eyes flash with anger, filling completely black, and she yells in infernal at the giant towering over her, fangs extended and hand raised. Jester’s tail wildly thrashes, and her chest swells with a deep anger. The air around Jester and the giant goes cold as the moisture in the air freezes to form ice shards that pierce into the giant, who stumbles back a foot in surprise.

The giant roars angrily at Jester.

Jester roars back, fangs sharp in the dim firelight.

_“... Where do you think Molly went?”_

_“Somewhere nice, probably surrounded by naked people and drugs.”_

_“Beau.”_

Jester advances, hands outstretched and magic flowing up and down her arms. She radiates faintly with green energy as she pulls her fingers into a complicated pattern, releasing a bright burning blue streak of energy that slams into the giant with the force of a tidal wave.

It stumbles and topples over, crashing down onto the stone floor with an earthquake-like rumble. The stones crack from his weight and Jester snarls, feeling unhinged and letting her rage consume her for the first time in her life.

She readies herself for another blast.

_“He’s somewhere… Molly’s somewhere. I dunno, maybe there is a place up there or whatever. If there is, he would be there.”_

_“I think he is. He’s totally hanging out with the Traveler right now.”_

_“I think he would like that.”_

The giant groans, reaching around blindly for the broadsword that clattered out of it’s hand when it fell.

Nothing exists outside of this moment to Jester. Her vision focuses entirely on the giant, the image of Beau falling to the floor playing in a loop in her mind, forever ingrained in her mind. The burning anger fuels her. It feeds the wave of red hot burn that threatens to drown her. In that moment, Jester wants that giant to pay.

She grins, teeth sharp and full of malice. For once, the giant actually seems afraid. Jester aims her magical blast at his head.

_“Jester?”_

_“Yeah, Beau?”_

_“I was lying, earlier.”_

_“Yeah, I know.”_

_“I’m - wait, what? You knew? Am I that transparent?”_

_“No, I’m just super good at reading you Beau. Best friends, remember?”_

_“Uh, yeah.”_

The magic courses through her, thrumming in her veins. This one is different than her usual bursts of magic, not that Jester’s paying attention to that detail at the moment. Still, her magic flares blood red for a moment before settling back into its usual deep green, though still devoid of its usual sparkles.

Jester screams as she blasts clean through the giant’s head, letting out all of her rage, her anger, still coiled deep below her gut.

The giant’s outstretched hand falls to the floor with a heavy thud, limp and unmoving. Stepping forward with her axe, Jester snarls at the corpse, still wound tight with all the emotions drumming through her head like a warzone.

_“What did you want to tell me?”_

_“I think it’s just dark. On the other side. I’m not sure there is anything. I mean, I hope there is. I really fucking hope there is.”_

_“... I hope we don’t have to find out, Beau.”_

_“We won’t.”_

A hand claps down suddenly on her shoulder. Jester whirls around, axe at the ready and fangs glinting sharp and dangerous.

Fjord stumbles back to avoid the swipe of her axe, his eyes wide with alarm and a little bit of fear. Dimly, Jester registers her own fully black eyes reflected in the yellow of Fjord’s irises, but the blood rushing through her ears makes it hard to focus on anything but the rage.

He looks hurt and a little scared. Jester can’t quite tell if he’s scared of her or for -

Beau.

Jester follows Fjord’s pointed look towards Beau’s still unmoving body where Nott, Caleb, and Yasha crowd around Caduceus, who has his hands full of diamonds and placed on Beau’s chest.

The axe falls out of her hand, and Jester stumbles towards Beau - that red angry something still screams in her head but it’s overridden by the fear that crawls up her throat.

_“Beau?”_

_“Yeah?”_

_“Um. Nevermind. Goodnight Beau.”_

_“Night, Jes.”_

Beau’s body is still limp and unnaturally pale by the time Jester makes it over to her. Heartbeat pounding in her ears, Jester falls to her knees and gathers Beau’s body in her arms, desperately trying to ignore the blood that stains her hands and clothes.

Around Caduceus’ hands, still upturned on Beau’s chest, green magic swirls through the handful of diamonds in his palm. Jester watches through tears as the diamonds slowly dissipate into green powder, and the soft breeze that flows through the cavern ruffles Jester’s bangs and the loose hairs from Beau’s bun.

Jester presses her forehead to Beau’s and prays.

_“... Hey, Beau?”_

_“Mmhm? ”_

_“I love you.”_

_“I love you too.”_

The world slows and dissolves into the slow spread of the seconds that Jester waits for Beau’s eyes to open. Her blood pumps more intensely, arms clutching tightly onto Beau’s lean frame as if to will the life back into her. Jester feels too taut and spread thin, her own insides turned upside down while tears continue to stream down her cheeks.

Behind her, Jester can feel the weighted presence of everyone else, their own worry bleeding into hers, amplifying everything to a sensitive point.

It feels like a million years when Beau finally stirs, groaning awake as her familiar blue eyes flutter open tiredly. Jester realizes at that moment that she was holding her breath, and sucks in a gulp of air desperately.

Beau grunts when Jester pulls the monk tight to her chest, tears dampening the already wet blue fabric of her expositor robes. The sobs get caught halfway through her throat as Jester’s anger simmers down to immeasurable relief, immense love.

“Hey, Jes,” Beau rasps, bringing her arms up tight around Jester’s shoulders.

In a collective wave, the rest of the Nein pile in on the hug, arms over arms and a shared warmth sealing them tight together. Beau groans, but a smile blooms on her face.

Jester leans back, tears drying on her cheeks, to find Beau’s blue eyes staring directly at her.

Something crashes over Jester then, something similar to the way she felt when Beau fell. It’s just as big and unfathomable, but this time, there’s no lingering anger. There’s no blood rushing in her ears and her vision tunneling down to a single point.

There’s only Beau.

Jester presses her forehead to Beau’s and they share a warm smile.

**Author's Note:**

> so i started this ficlet a year ago and completely forgot to finish it rip. ANYWAYS IMAGINE IF JESTER TOOK A LEVEL IN BARBARIAN  
> catch me on tumblr @flowercoasts


End file.
